


The Morning After

by Impressioniste



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-06
Updated: 2014-05-06
Packaged: 2018-01-23 18:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1575035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impressioniste/pseuds/Impressioniste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A drabbly bit of fluff that sits neatly between the two main parts of the primary Anders romance cutscene.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Morning After

**Author's Note:**

> Repost of a very old bit of fic with some minor editing / rewriting.

It’s something Anders has never really had to deal with before, waking up in an unfamiliar bed with someone else beside him. It’s not the ‘bed’ part that unsettles him, but rather the ‘someone else’, because the only encounters he’s ever had are ones that left him feeling cold and empty and alone with his thoughts, not safe and warm with another person’s arms still wrapped around him hours later instead of reaching for their clothing before their sweat on the sheets has even cooled.

He knows what it means to share _bodies_ , but not _hearts_ —he’s lived most of his life substituting one for the other with varying degrees of success—but here in the moment the revelation no longer seems bitter, because simply being with Hawke has given him back everything he thought he’d given up, plus interest.

He doesn't know what to say the morning after, when Hawke finally stirs and pulls away, rising and reaching for his clothes without a word; He stays silent, a familiar empty feeling rising in the pit of his stomach as the warmth around him dissipates, his uncertainty written so plainly across his face that he’s desperately afraid Hawke might see, and somehow know, even without words, just how vulnerable he truly is, how fragile his heart is, and how close it feels to breaking in anticipation of even the slightest hint of rejection. He turns away and dresses himself in turn, his fingers shaking as they hastily fasten each buckle on his coat, bracing himself for the inevitable dismissal he fears hearing from Hawke’s lips because that is what he’s used to, and that is all he knows.

He closes his eyes and waits for the blow, but suffers only silence.

He holds his breath and surveys the room, his gaze stopping at the sight of Hawke standing quietly by the fire, looking down into the flames as though he’s searching for something, waiting for something… or some _one_.

In the span of just one moment—in just the time it takes him to draw a single, anxious breath—the emptiness in Anders’ stomach is gone, full to bursting instead with what feels like the wings of a million butterflies fluttering inside him all at once, and even though his hands are still shaking, he knows the reason _why_ has changed, and it’s okay, because he dosen't fear rejection any longer.

And when Hawke finally turns and looks at him, he returns it with a smile, and in that instant knows exactly what it is he needs to say.


End file.
